**PLEASE NOTE: The following game review exclusively covers my experience with the single-player campaign mode. The following game does have online multiplayer modes. For further information regarding the multiplayer, please refer to exclusive articles from professional gaming journalists and communities such as IGN, GameSpot and Metacritic.**
My experience with Bethesda and ID Software’s newest first-person shooter “Doom Eternal” got off to a rather rocky start. When I received my copy of the game from Amazon Prime two days after the release date (which is understandable considering the pandemic), I noticed my loose game disc wasn’t in the proper disc holder. And when I downloaded the game, my PS4 told me the game was not working. This was completely unacceptable, and I tried to clean out the disc multiple times to correct the situation.
Despite my best efforts, the results were the same, and I was worried I would have to cancel this review because of the inexcusable predicament I was put in due to poor disc handling. But then I tried one more time, and for reasons I still can’t comprehend, the disc was working fine and smoothly from there. I was tentatively prepared for the disc to stop working at any time though because of the rough start. If you experienced this situation for a new game, let me know in the comments below so I feel better.
Now with that out of the way, allow me to give credit to “Doom Eternal” where it’s due. This game gives you exactly what you would want from a game of this precise nature. Whether it’s for therapy or fun, the core of the gameplay is fairly self-explanatory: kill all of the demons and other dangerous creatures from hell that so much as crosses your path between you and your objective. Even then, most if not all your objectives are basically just killing even bigger demons than what you’ve killed before.
Most outsiders to the gaming world are easily tempted to state it’s a fairly typical video game based on that simplistic description. On the one hand, that is somewhat accurate, but that’s okay. The target audience that wants to play “Doom Eternal” is going in for that satisfying adrenaline rush from the game’s fast-paced action and combat. They wouldn’t want it any other way, and the game succeeds at delivering a gory and intense shooter with constant action and addicting combat in the gameplay.
That’s mainly why I wanted to play this game as well. On the other hand, “Doom Eternal” is much more challenging than folks like me would initially be led to believe. I started playing the game on a normal difficulty setting, since that’s usually my default mode nowadays for a more balanced personal experience. Within an hour or so of starting out on normal, it was clear to me that this game’s normal mode is equivalent to a hard mode in every other game.
It might be even more difficult for those who don’t have much experience in the FPS genre. Although I’ve played a couple FPS’s in my time, it’s not a genre I play a lot of or am really that good at, especially in comparison to those that play “Call of Duty” every solitary year. Because of this game’s intelligent and ruthless enemy A.I. (which is a compliment in the grand scheme of things), I decided to switch to the easy difficulty setting and even then, I still kept dying and dying….a lot.
It was hardly any different from playing on normal mode, except that maybe I’m progressing further than I would in the other difficulty settings. All I know is that I can’t imagine the strain one would experience from the three harder difficulty settings due to the insanely quick reflexes players would have to exert at every turn. I wouldn’t say it’s like the “Dark Souls” games or anything like that, mind you. But it does make me appreciate the checkpoint systems and many forms of loot even more.
If it wasn’t for the loot drops from defeating the enemies in the form of health and shield powerups or ammo and fuel for the various guns and weapons in my disposal, I would’ve been screwed. I love how the game rewards you ammo for your weapons by using the chainsaw on your enemies. However, if you’re out of ammo and fuel for your chainsaw, you’re basically dead. Although you can do melee attacks, they’re sort of useless as they don’t do any damage, except for Glory Kills.
Essentially, Glory Kills are finishing melee attacks on enemies with a generated orange or blue light that usually give you more health points. And you’ll need to do a lot of Glory Kills in this game to better progress through your objectives. Otherwise, you’re more likely to keep getting stuck on a certain level or checkpoint. In between the testosterone fueling combat and shooting areas, the game takes a break from the action in the form of a bunch of first-person platforming sections.
To give you some additional background, I’ve played the “Portal” games, which are essentially first-person puzzle platformers. I know there’s a way to do first-person platforming in a way that most players can still enjoy themselves through refined controls and mechanics. And while I appreciate the additional variety to the gameplay on offer here, I must admit that I’m not going to play a game like “Doom Eternal” for its platforming sections alone, and the reason for that is quite simple.
First-person platforming just simply isn’t my thing. This sentiment is further validated with the inclusion of various timers both on the platforms themselves and on the monkey bars you’ll need to swing on to get closer to your objective. There were many times during the platforming sections where I questioned if the primary game mechanics, such as jumping or boosting, were optimized to handle where the game wants me to go to. I guess I just need to be thankful for the boosting ability on my suit.
Oh, wait. The boosting ability needs to refuel as well, doesn’t it? Ugh. Most of the time, my luck with the platforming goes one of two ways. Either I jump or boost too far, or I am well short of even catching the edge of the platform to hang on to. I don’t know if it’s because of a lack of skill on my end (which I don’t think is as simple as all that) OR if the clunky controls for these sections perhaps needed more fine tuning. Either way, I found the platforming to be a bit too cumbersome for my taste.
If they created an option for third-person platforming sort of like what the original “Halo” did with its vehicle sections, these sections would be much better. The game has a welcome variety of customization and ability enhancements to further upgrade your health, strength and firepower. At times, there might even be too much information for the player, like the different forms of currency you have to pick up. Thankfully, there’s no paywalls to contend with for the various currencies.
And given what AAA companies have been doing recently with microtransactions including Bethesda, that’s certainly a blessing. “Doom Eternal” certainly delivers the goods. The visual presentation is first-rate, certainly appealing enough to prevent some folks who get nauseous at the sight of blood and guts from fainting or hurling a little longer. It was certainly gratifying for me seeing some tough obese demons become a grotesque collection of skeletons and picked over meat.
The rock soundtrack is ideal for the demon slaying and blasting you’ll be doing. It perfectly fits the mood for the hellish atmosphere and destructed environments you’ll navigate. “Doom Eternal” will most certainly exhaust you between its challenge and the high-speed intensity of its action. It definitely exhausted me at least. But I was mostly exhausted in a positive way, since it gave me a hell of a good time over the many demons I’ve conquered and then some.